Yesterday, Puma Malaysia organised a running clinic exclusively for Puma Malaysia Pacers and its running club members. The session was held at PushMore Crossfit Centre and led by PushMore’s very own two lead trainers (their names of which I cannot recall right now, SORRY!).

The gym

Having some fun before the session

It starts at 8.30am, which meant that I had to crawl out of bed at an ungodly hour on a Saturday morning all in the name of Puma. Yes, Puma Malaysia, I had to cut short my sleeping time by about 5 hours (at least) to attend this workshop. I cannot say I wasn’t looking forward to it though! I just wasn’t fond of the idea of waking up so early on a weekend.

So anyway, the session started when everyone (more or less) had arrived. Trainer 1 (you will know who Trainer 1 and 2 are in a bit) kicked off the session with an introduction to the Puma running shoe collection.

Trainer 1

Trainer 2

Photo by PushMore

The Faas and Mobium series. The Puma Faas series is light, efficient and built for speed. Whether you are a fore/mid foot or heel striker, the Faas series offers options for both with a heel-to-toe drop scale ranging from 100 to 1000. If you are a minimalist runner, you would consider the lower end of the scale and vice versa. I’m currently using the Faas 300 V2 and I’m loving every bit of it!

As for the Mobium series, according to Puma, it is a “Running shoe that expands and contracts right along with your foot, without constraints”. It is modelled with the human foot in mind with a high arch. There is also a unique outsole pad that is supposed to model the tarsals of the foot. Its adequate cushioning at the heel makes it suitable for long distance running. Accordingly, mid foot strikers would love the Mobium.

The Pose Running Method

After the introduction to the new range of Puma running shoes, we got to the highlight of the day – learning the Pose running method. The Pose running method is basically running with your feet directly under your body as you fall forward using gravity. By using gravity, as oppose to muscular energy, you are able to thrust forward using the least amount of energy and effort. This ultimately translates to more efficient use of energy. To complete the running cycle, the supporting foot is pulled upwards, instead of pushing it against the ground. This movement should be repeated, again and again……well, until you finish your run.

Before the method was introduced, we did a few laps for them to assess our running

Serious stuff

So again, to summarise:

The Pose – Standing on the ball of your support foot (with knees slightly bent), the ankles, hips and shoulders should be vertically aligned. When viewed from the side, the other foot should be off the ground, creating the number “4”.

On the balls of your foot

The number “4” (close enough)

The Fall – Remember that gravity is your best friend. Work with gravity and allow it to pull you forward.

The Fall

The Pull – Use your muscles to pull the support leg off the ground while allowing the other leg to drop. Remember to pick your heel up.

Trying it out

If this method is done correctly, it will improve your running performance while minimising the risk of injury. Trainer 1 also mentioned that we should aim for shorter and quicker strides instead of one big leap. The foot should land under the knee and not in front of it. Also, there should be minimum movement from your upper body, keeping it compact without any swinging.

Armed with new knowledge, we went outside to practice

3 by 3

Group run!

Hydration Advice

The next thing on our agenda was on hydration. Here is a quick summary of what was advised:

– Start hydrating a few days before a race

– Drink about 500-600 ml of water 2 hours before a race

– After a race, with every kilogram of weight loss, 800-1500 ml of liquids should be consumed

– Try to drink at every water station

– Only consume sports/energy drinks if you’re running/working out for more than 60 minutes. If not, you’re just expanding your waistline

Running Strength Training:

Due to time constraints, squats were the only strength exercise mentioned. I guess you all know what squats are so I won’t be elaborating on that (maybe in my next post!).

SQUAT!

Ass to the Grass babeh!

A good way to stretch out tight hip muscles

Ok folks, that’s a wrap!

Thanks to Pushmore and Puma Malaysia for running this running clinic! I had a lot of fun and I’m sure everyone else did too! Cheers to many more workshops ahead!

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